Padawan Municipal Council (MPC) chairman Lo Khere Chiang said raft safari will continue

Posted on 4 August 2014 

The sundaily.com

KUCHING: Blaming irresponsible quarters as playing a major role in the current drought season, Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr James Dawos Mamit says it will last until next January.

He said clearing forests meant there were not sufficient trees to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen and water vapour, which eventually led to global warming and climate change.

Annually, he said huge amounts of carbon dioxide were released into the environment, part of which came from Malaysia, due to industrial activities, he said at the Padawan Raft Safari 2014 prize presentation in Kampung Git here yesterday.

Dawos said the drought season occurred due to the El Nino phenomenon, adding that there would be less rain.

Thus, he said forest clearing should be reduced to prevent global warming and climate change.
Meanwhile, Padawan Municipal Council (MPC) chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the council would continue to organise the raft safari which was in the state government's tourism calender.

He said the council had allocated RM1.5 million to improve the infrastructure for the raft safari.
"We are also improving other tourism infrastructures to lure more visitors to our area, especially in Padawan which is already a popular tourist destination," he added.

Team Anak Kampung from Kampung Jabir was adjudged the 'River King' in the 26km race of the main event - the expert category.

Anak Kampung will now keep the challenge trophy for winning the trophy three times in a row.
About 90 teams competed in the raft race, which is short of 30 teams as compared to last year due to the drought season causing the low water level along the Sungai Sarawak Kiri.

The event which started from Kampung Annah Rais, Timurang and Danu and ended in Kampung Git, attracted a large crowd. – Bernama